Jan. 9, 2007
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego State men's tennis doubles team of Markus Dickhardt and Christian Groh enter the dual-match season ranked No. 9 in the first FILA Collegiate Tennis Rankings of the spring 2007 campaign as announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) on Tuesday.
The senior duo is coming off a successful fall campaign that saw them reach the semifinals of the ITA All-American Tournament in Tulsa, Okla., and the quarterfinals of the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships in Columbus, Ohio. For the fall, the pair went 4-1 with two of their victories coming against nationally ranked opponents.
"I am happy to see Markus and Christian ranked inside the top 10," SDSU head coach Gene Carswell said. "I believe they belong there and I'd like to see them improve upon it throughout the year."
Individually, Groh sits at No. 28 in the singles poll, his highest ranking in his Aztec career. Coming into 2006-07, the Germany native found himself at No. 67, but prior to this year he was ranked only four times with his best showing coming on May 1, 2006, when he was ranked 83rd nationally.
"Christian's No. 28 ranking is his highest of his career," Carswell said. "It is a testament to a lot of hard work. We have seen a lot of growth over the years and it is well deserved."
As a team, the Aztecs are ranked No. 49 in the team poll, the same position they finished at a year ago when they won the Mountain West Conference regular season title with a perfect 6-0 record (15-8 overall).
San Diego State gets its season underway this Friday, Jan. 12, when it plays host to the Aztec Invitational. The three-day event will feature 56th-ranked Arizona State and Santa Clara. The action begins at 10 a.m. PST at Aztec Tennis Center.